


Long Day At Work

by starprise_entership



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon Cardassia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 16:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13438722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starprise_entership/pseuds/starprise_entership
Summary: Julian Bashir, Federation Medical Aid Volunteer, returns home after a long day at work.





	Long Day At Work

The analog on the wall blinks 02 00. The whole house is quiet, and not a peep is heard as the main door slides back with a soft whoosh and a weary man steps into the shadowy house. Stifling a yawn, he steps over the threshold, and once he’s sure the door behind him is secured tightly, softly puts down his medical satchel by the vase near the door. Grabs a glass of water. Gulps it down thirstily. He paces back and forth across the dining room until he’s decided he has enough and puts the glass back in the replicator and trudges upstairs.

He doesn’t pause on the stairs as the suburban house creaks. It’s a nightly rhythm, and he’s stayed long enough to know it’s pattern. Continuing on his way, the man stifles another yawn. The house is prone to amplifying every sound that’s made within it. One soft sneeze from downstairs can be heard in the attic. A fallen book from a shelf on the second level can be heard in the tiny, stuffy basement. Any sound made on the stairs would equate to...being able to be clearly heard no matter where you were in the house.

He stops by his daughter’s room on the way to his. Relieved to find Arys still sleeping peacefully, he straightens her blanket - it’s been a cool night. Normally the creaking would wake Arys up when she was still new to this place, but tonight is different. He watches Arys sleep for a while, but afterwards his eyes glance over to the mess on her desk. The datarods containing her textbooks are scattered all over her table, and her PADD not left in its charging port. He skims the material on her PADD. _Chapter Five: Thermal Physics._ He smiles, knowing that it’s not his field of expertise and the thought that Arys might grow up to be even more brilliant than him warms him to the core. She’s only ten now, but he knows she’ll go far.

He gathers up all the datarods and places it back in the casing designated for carrying them, and places her PADD in its charging port. Finally, he walks over to Arys again and kisses her softly on the ridge just above her left eye.

Then he leaves and gets ready for bed. Garak stirs in bed when he enters the room, but he gathers his nightwear quickly and heads for the bathroom. He doesn’t know how tired he is until he almost grabs the wrong bottle by mistake - the skin formula that Garak uses, made up of largely different components from his own formula. _Silly me,_ he remarks, dazed, before picking up the right bottle.

“Long day at work, Julian?” Garak murmurs, as Julian slips into bed next to him. Julian anticipates Garak’s arms coiling under his and joins them at his front. Garak nuzzles into Julian’s neck, sleepily. “I was starting to get a bit cold, mind you.”

“Then you should’ve turned up the heating.” Julian whispers. “But then you wouldn’t have an excuse to cuddle with me.”

Garak gives a soft, satisfied sigh. “You’ve never been the best at being subtle, either, my dear.”

“Mm.” Julian murmurs, contently. “But there’s something I should tell you about what happened today.”

“And what happened today?”

“I was stationed,” Julian begins, “at a part of Lakarian City that was almost completely demolished by the Dominion when they left. I thought it was going to be like any other day, but I was surprised. There were children playing in the streets. Running, laughing, playing with their hoops and ribbons.” He pauses, taking a breath. “Elim, I think Cardassia’s wounds are starting to heal.”

“It certainly has been a long time since I’ve heard laughter in the streets.” Garak agrees. “Two years, since the Dominion left.”

“But do you think Cardassia will ever be alright again, after what’s happened in the past century?” Julian asks. “Back to its former cultural glory?”

Garak takes a moment to think, and the silence is laced with more disappointment and sadness. “Cardassia hasn’t been alright for a very, very long time, I will agree with you on that. And I’m sure that you know the optimistic answer yourself. With any instance of nation-building and ensuring stability in the field of politics, there will be ups and downs, but there’s a slim chance that after generations of political reform, Cardassia will be truly vibrant and alive again.”

“Are you telling me what I want to hear, or is that really what you think?”

“And I thought years of putting up with me would teach you a good lesson about perspective. This goes to show, that you still do have a great deal to learn.” Garak says. “Get some rest, Julian, and I might actually reveal more about what I think when we converse tomorrow.”

“And there’ll be no guarantees that you’ll actually do it.” Julian pokes.

“Oh, I might,” teases Garak, leaving a light kiss on Julian’s shoulder. “Hush.”

 

 


End file.
